Spiritualist Art

Messages from beyond the grave? Evidence of journeys into the subconscious or of spiritual experiences? Did Raphaël Lonné or Laure Pigeon use a « spiritualist alibi » as a pretext in order to devote themselves to artistic creativity that their social background and education stopped them engaging in? Did mediumistic activity irrupt into their life in the manner of the sudden vocation experienced by shamans?

Creators of spiritualist Art Brut maintain that they are in contact with the « other side » and that they create as dictated by the deceased, spirits or occult forces. Thus the paintings, drawings and embroideries of Madge Gill, Augustin Lesage and Jeanne Tripier emerged during trances. According to their own accounts, these creators produced their works spontaneously, in a feverish state, at lightning speed and with a sure hand. Without premeditation or second thoughts they turned out precise and complexly structured compositions of great sophistication. These are usually abstract, but in them there is often a suggestion of a human or animal presence, of plant, mineral or organic elements that proliferate and saturate the space.

The exhibition gathers together more than a hundred works by some twenty creators from the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne and the abcd Collection in Paris as well as a number of spiritualist artists from the Czech Republic (private and public collections). A film dedicated to Raphaël Lonné, produced by Bernard Gazet and Laurent Danchin, will be shown within the context of the exhibition.

This exhibition forms part of the Science et Cité Festival, which is taking place from 20 to 29 May 2005 in Lausanne and several other Swiss towns and cities.